Henry VII was an “unexpected” ruler….?

  The following list deals with fifteen unexpected rulers. Well, these things are in the eye of the beholder, of course, but (for readers of this blog) the salient name on the list is Henry VII, who apparently won at Bosworth “largely by chance”. Hmm…. How, pray, can deliberate desertion and treachery be regarded as…

THOMAS GREY MARQUESS OF DORSET – MEDIOCRE AND SHIFTY OR GOOD AND PRUDENT MAN?

Reblogged from A Medieval Potpourri @sparkypus.com Arms of Thomas Grey, Marquess of Dorset (c.1455-1501). Wikipdia. Well, well, well.  What can I say about Thomas Grey Marquess of Dorset (c. 1455–1501)?  A member of the voracious Wydeville/Woodville family he lived through the tumult of the Wars of the Roses, at one time ending up in a bit…

Wythenshawe Hall

Wythenshawe Hall. (2023, December 3). In Wikipedia By Dave Smethurst, CC BY-SA 2.0, image here The Tatton family had a deer park in Wythenshawe, then Cheshire, as far back as 1297. However, the present Hall dates to about 1540 when Robert Tatton was the head of the family. The Tattons were relatively minor Cheshire gentry.…

More praise for Philippa Langley’s discoveries concerning the Princes in the Tower….

  Praise and admiration abound for Philippa Langley’s new discoveries and the book that tells all about the work she and her colleagues have been doing to trace what really happened to the boys in the Tower, the sons of Edward IV. Well, they were princes until 1483, then they were illegitimate boys, and then…

The boy who had been King Edward V….

Ladies and gentlemen, please remember that this novella is a fictional account of what might have happened to the boys known as the Princes in the Tower. The theory about Coldridge is not my original thought, nor have I done anything personally to help prove it. To my knowledge there is nowhere called Oakhanger in Kent, let alone that it was held by the Earl of Lincoln. I…

The Murderous Stanleys of 15th-century Lancashire….

A POST ESPECIALLY FOR HALLOWE’EN…. Here is a tale of murder most foul that I think suits Hallowe’en, even if it didn’t actually happen at Hallowtide. It’s based on fact, and I first found it in Lancashire Folk Tales by Jennie Bailey and David England. Since then, in one form or another, it has also…

Northwich and the Stanleys….

When I read this Northwich Guardian link I was drawn by the fact that Richard III is mentioned. However, I was then a little confused by the following: “….The history of Northwich started on September 17, 1483, when King Richard III granted the manor and village of Northwich to Lord Stanley and his brother Sir…

Various Goings on in the General Area of Cheshire.

Although Cheshire was fiercely loyal to Richard II, after the Battle of Shrewsbury (1403) that loyalty gradually transferred itself to the House of Lancaster. Cheshire was a royal earldom and palatinate, with the King (or the Prince of Wales when there was one) as its immediate lord. As in next-door Lancashire, there was no resident…

The white lady should have disposed of Rhys ap Thomas and the Weasel when she had the chance….!

Here we have another old manor house with a ghostie (a white lady). The house “….is said to have once been owned by Tudor knight Sir Rhys ap Thomas. It is thought that Sir Rhys and Derwydd Mansion provided accommodation for Henry Tudor, as well as 5,000 Welsh soldiers added to Henry’s growing army, as…

Sir William Stanley – Turncoat or Loyalist..

UPDATED POST FROM A MEDIEVAL POTPOURRI @sparkypus.com Sir William Stanley crowning Henry Tudor with the fallen King Richard’s crown in the aftermath of the Battle of Bosworth.  Unknown artist.. It is well documented how, through the treasonable and treacherous actions of Sir William Stanley at Bosworth, Richard III lost his crown and his life. He…